Covid-19 crisis most unkind to MDWs, says Mission in annual report

By Vir B. Lumicao 

A worker dismissed last year due to the pandemic 

Migrant domestic workers worked longer hours and became more vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse last year as a result of the pandemic.

This was disclosed by the Mission for Migrant Workers in its Service Report for 2020 which was released Thursday, Apr 15, to coincide with the church-based charity’s 40^th founding anniversary.

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“MDWs have been made to work longer hours, even during their rest days. And more worrisome, there is a resurgence in violence against women,” said Cynthia Abdon-Tellez, MFMW general manager.

“Though this pandemic has caused unwelcome changes for everyone, we cannot deny the fact that it has been most unkind to MDWs,” said Tellez. “Even before the pandemic, migrants had always been vulnerable due to their visa status.”

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According to data collated by MFMW, 17% of its clients reported having been physically abused or assaulted last year, a 2-percentage-point increase from 2019.

Six percent of the clients reported experiencing rape or sexual abuse last year compared with 2% the previous year, said Abdon-Tellez.

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Equally worrying, a whopping 34% of the workers who sought help from Mission reported they were not paid their wages. This was 10 times more than the 3% recorded in 2019, and meant that one out of three MDWs did not receive any salary at all.

The MFMW data also shows 69% of its clients had reported ill-treatment, or almost 7 out of every 10. This was far higher than the 25% posted in 2019.

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“Many migrant workers suffer silently because if they lose their job, they also lose their accommodation here because of the live-in requirement,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“With greater economic instability due to the pandemic, the workers are forced to suffer in deeper depths of despair,” she added.

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She said migrant workers bore the burden of stress undoubtedly experienced by their employers, especially the economic difficulty.

Tellez says many MDWs suffered 'in deeper depths of despair' last year

Emphasizing the workers’ vulnerability was the finding that 2% of MDWs reported getting entangled in money laundering while 4% were cyberbullied or harassed online.

“These issues are connected to love scams, wherein vulnerable women migrants are preyed upon by unscrupulous partners. This underscores the loneliness MDWs feel being far away from home and unable to go home for a visit,” said Abdon-Tellez.

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Obviously the most common complaint of the MDWs was working longer hours, with 98% of the clients reporting this kind of abuse, said Abdon-Tellez.

“Related to this, almost 1 in every 2 (or 46%) is made to work on her rest days, while more than 1 in every 3 (or 39%) are made to work on their statutory holidays,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“Of course, this translates to even more overworked MDWs who are also suffering from economic hardships. They are silent and invisible sufferers, and that means more help should be extended to them. If only migrant domestic workers had a live-out option, this could have been avoided,” she said.

On a positive note, the MFMW has helped its clients recover $3,230,624.47 in 2020. This is a 40% increase in claims compared with 2019.

Much of the settlements were the result of labor claims filed by MDWs whose contracts were terminated by their employers because of the economic hardship due to the pandemic.

The Mission also engages in advocacy work for migrant workers (File)

The 2020 Service Report also features the MFMW’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The MFMW referred 873 migrants to shelters, a 24% increase from last year. It also distributed 137,057 pieces of face masks and 6,218 bottles of hand sanitizers, with the help of fellow migrant advocates,” Abdon-Tellez said.

“Many MDWs have trouble procuring their own supply because either they are not included in the household they serve or due the prohibitive prices of these essentials. This underscores the vulnerability of migrants, especially in this pandemic,” she said.

The global crisis brought about the need for new services. In 2020, the MFMW started serving new migrants, or those who just arrived and were quarantined in hotels.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

Being new here, they had no resources yet, and thus had to put up with insufficient, repetitive and unhealthy food served them while under quarantine. Many were also not given basic provisions such as water.

The MFMW provided 3,511 hot meals to them, Abdon-Tellez said.

She said there were also 415 migrants who were given meal coupons good for two people or meal packs that could feed at least five people while staying in boarding houses in-between jobs, or because they were stranded by flight cancellations.

“We also provided other forms of support for those unable to be accommodated in shelters,” Abdon-Tellez recounted.

She said that due to the pandemic, MFMW shifted some of its activities online.

“Some of our 135 Life and Work Skills seminars and training classes were done online to reach more migrants. We also had our Migrant Festival online for International Migrants Day, as a celebration of MFMW's services throughout the year,” Abdon-Tellez said.

The Migrant Festival may be accessed with these links: https://youtu.be/aELAkyavSjo or https://www.facebook.com/watch/275507625853776/201793074885968

“To cope with the new services arising from the pandemic, the MFMW is calling on kind-hearted individuals, institutions, and corporate donors to support its programs by clicking https://www.migrants.net/to-donate. A $100 donation will feed and shelter a migrant for a day,” Abdon-Tellez said.

To download full version of “2020 Service Report”: https://www.migrants.net/reports

Support the Mission: https://www.migrants.net/to-donate

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Post-Easter virus outbreak in Yuen Long sends 50 to quarantine

By The SUN 

Meadowlands, where the couple lives, will now be subject to compulsory testing 

A couple who met up with several groups over the long Easter holiday and tested positive yesterday for Covid-19 has sent up to 50 of their close contacts to quarantine.

This was according to health officials who held a press briefing today, Thursday, on the coronavirus situation.

The couple who live in Meadowlands in Yuen Long were among six new infections reported today, four of them imported. The additional cases drove up the city’s total tally to 11,619.

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More than 10 preliminary cases were reported, five of them locally acquired. They are all linked to the 29-year-old woman who was reported infected today, including her parents and three other family members.

The four imported cases included two with the N501Y variant. One is a 39-year-old man who arrived from Italy, and the other, a 31-year-old man who came from France.

The two other cases who did not carry the variant are a 43-year-old woman who flew in from the Philippines, and a 4-month-old baby girl from India who arrived on Apr 4.

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According to Dr Ambrose Wong of the Centre for Health Protection, the local cases looked like a post-Easter outbreak.

Wong says the outbreak looks like an Easter holiday cluster

“It’s related to the Easter holiday. It’s quite obvious because the family gathered during the holiday. If all of them become confirmed, it will be one Easter holiday cluster,” he said.

The wife, who works as accounts manager at Quality Healthcare Nursing Agency in Kowloon Bay, felt unwell on Apr 9 but did not see a doctor and just took some over-the-counter medicines.'

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She saw a doctor last Monday after she lost her sense of taste, and tested positive yesterday. She lives with her husband and her parents.

Her husband, a 38-year-old property agent, started coughing on Sunday and was found infected at the same time.

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On Apr 2, the woman met up with eight other people at a friend’s house in Ngau Chi Wan. On Apr 3, 5 and 9 she visited her in-laws at their home in Siu Sai Wan Estate. About seven family members were present.

Her uncle, aunt and 14-year-old cousin also visited her at home and all of them are now also preliminary positive.

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Among the other places the woman visited during the incubation period were a noodle shop in Mongkok and a law firm in Central, both on Mar 30. On Apr 4, she also visited a ramen restaurant in Yuen Long with her husband and mother.

On Apr 5 she visited a shop in Kwun Tong and another one in Island Resort Mall on Apr 10. She also visited a nail shop in Mong Kok on the same day.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

All the places she visited will be closed for disinfection for 14 days and the staff there tested while her close contacts will be sent to quarantine.

Also subjected to the same orders are the school that her cousin attended, and the offices where her aunt and uncle worked at in Kwai Chung.

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Vaccines opened to all, but BioNTech jabs available only until Sept

By Daisy CL Mandap 

Those aged 16 &17 will have to get their parents' consent to get the vaccine

All residents aged 16 to 29 will be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine from next Friday, Apr 23, Civil Secretary Patrick Nip, who is in charge of the government’s vaccination program, said during a press briefing today, Apr 15.

The move will open the government’s vaccination program to all qualified residents in Hong Kong, which according to Nip, number 6.5 million, or 89% of the city’s total population of about 7.5 million.

Previously, only those aged 30 and above and those working in specified high-risk jobs such as those in catering and aviation industries were allowed to take the jabs. The first priority was given to residents aged 60 and above, and medical frontliners.

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Nip also reminded people that the BioNTech jab may be taken by anyone over the age of 16, but the one from Sinovac is recommended only from those who are at least 18 years old.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds will be asked for a completed parental consent form before being given a jab, with a template for the form available on the booking website.

He said the government decided to extend the vaccination to all age groups in line with public clamor.

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“We have considered the operation of the vaccination program and the supply of vaccines, and have decided to expand the program to cover the age group of 19 to 29 years old,” he said.

Nip also reminded all those who want to get the more effective BioNTech vaccine that they only have until August to secure their first dose, and their second dose by the next month, when the community vaccination centers (CVCs) will be closed down.

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“Otherwise, some of the vaccines may have expired,” said Nip, “and there may not be enough supply.” 

All the BioNTech vaccines have arrived, so must be used by Sept

Nip explained that the vaccine, which requires careful handling and storage, could only be used six months after the date of manufacture. After packaging, tests, shipment and delivery to Hong Kong, the period would have been cut to just four months.

But the Sinovac jab, which does not require the same kind of sensitive handling, will continue to be available at all general outpatient clinics of public hospitals, and the 1,600 private doctors who have enlisted for the inoculation program.

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By next month, Nip also said that three vaccination centers offering Sinovac jabs, in Tseung Kwan O, Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan will switch to offering BioNTech vaccines.

Secretary for Health Dr Sophia Chan said Hong Kong people should be grateful that there is enough supply of vaccines for everyone in the city, unlike in many places where the challenge is to get enough jabs for their people.

Chan said the government has procured 15 million doses of vaccines, half of which came from Sinovac and the other half, from BioNTech. This is enough to last until the end of this year, she said.

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The government has also started procuring doses for next year, keeping in mind the development of third generation vaccines that are said to give protection against the new mutant viruses that seem to be spreading globally.

Despite this, she said the take-up for the vaccine in Hong Kong has been slow, with just about 950,000 doses administered so far- 540,000 from Sinovac and 410,000 from BioNTech. That’s just about 9.7 % of all those qualified to take the vaccine, meaning those aged 16 and above.

 

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

“We still have a long way to go,” said Chan, explaining the challenge faced by Hong Kong in attaining herd immunity from the coronavirus disease. 

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21-day quarantine stays for arrivals from Phl, other ‘very high risk’ places

By The SUN 

Quarantine & testing requirements for Philippine travelers stay in place

Hong Kong unveiled its plan to shorten the quarantine period for fully vaccinated persons arriving from non-very high-risk overseas places today, Apr 15. But a government statement said the exact grouping of places will be made when the scheme is published in the gazette in late April or early May. 

Not included in the scheme are travelers from the Philippines, which has been placed under the A2 category for “very high risk places,” which also currently includes India, Pakistan and Indonesia.

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At a higher level are three countries classified as A1 or “extremely high risk” places, which include as of now the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, the three countries identified as the sources of the highly infectious coronavirus variants, collectively designated as N501Y.

Anybody who had stayed in the A1 countries for at least two hours in the past 21 days will not be allowed to board a flight to Hong Kong.

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However, according to a statement issued by the Hong Kong government today, the A1 countries may be moved to A2 by the first half of May, meaning flights from there would resume, subject to stringent requirements including the 21-day quarantine and a negative Covid-19 test result.

Conversely, any A2 country like the Philippines could be moved to the A1 category for 14 days, meaning a total flight ban, if a cumulative number of at least 5 passengers from the country, regardless of airline taken, are found to have the variant on arrival in Hong Kong, within a 7-day period.

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After 14 days, the downgraded country will revert to A2 status, meaning flights can resume, but still subject to strict boarding and quarantine requirements.

Quarantine period for high to low risk countries is cut if traveler is fully vaccinated

For all other places not classified as very high risk or extremely high risk, there is now a possibility of reducing the 21-day quarantine period if the passenger is fully vaccinated, meaning he or she has received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine at least 14 days before traveling.

According to the government statement, the scheme is “on the basis of the 'vaccine bubble' and in accordance with risk-based principles."

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The statement announced the reduced quarantine period for categories designated as “high” to “medium” and low risk. But apart from the low risk countries under category D, which include Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, no other places have yet been designated under each group.

For Group B places specified as “high risk,” the quarantine period will be shortened to 14 days, with a 7-day self-monitoring period, plus compulsory tests on the 12^th and 19^th day after arrival.

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In addition, the negative result for a Covid-19 test taken 72 hours before the flight, and confirmed hotel booking, should be presented before boarding.

For group C countries designated as “medium risk”, the quarantine is also shortened to 14 days for fully vaccinated passengers. No pre-testing is necessary prior to boarding, but the confirmed hotel booking must be presented. The 12^th and 19^th day tests also apply.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

For group D, or “low risk” countries, the hotel quarantine period for fully vaccinated travelers, which may include non-residents, is further lowered to 7 days, with a further 7 days for self-check, and compulsory tests on the 12^th and 19^th day. If the traveler is not vaccinated, the hotel quarantine is 14 days.

In addition to all these requirements, every traveler who arrives in Hong Kong must still follow the “test-and-hold” procedure, meaning they will have to undergo testing for Covid-19 and remain at the airport until the result is known. Any person who tests positive is taken directly to a hospital for treatment and isolation.

The full requirements for each category of places can be found by clicking this link: 

https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202104/15/P2021041500038_364896_1_1618455183571.pdf

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Grave believed shared by Josephine Bracken and mom unveiled

By Vir B. Lumicao

Bracken's grave in Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley as it looks now

A solemn ceremony in a wooded section of Hong Kong Cemetery on Wong Nai Chung Road in Happy Valley last Sunday may put to rest a century-old search for the grave of Josephine Bracken, the Irish common-law wife of Dr Jose P. Rizal.

On Apr 11, a handful of officers of the Knights of Rizal and Kababaihang Rizalista members unveiled a newly restored memorial gravesite of Elizabeth Jane McBride Bracken, the mother of Josephine, in Section 41 of the cemetery’s Catholic quarter.

Two years ago, a dark, grimy stone slab engraved with the number 4258 was the only marker that indicated that beneath the 2.5-square-meter barren patch on the gently sloping ground lay the remains of Mrs Bracken, who was buried there on Nov 9, 1876.

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The spot was flanked by graves of fallen British soldiers from the Hong Kong Garrison who perished during Commonwealth Wars, in particular World War 1, as their concrete tombstones indicated.

After Sunday’s unveiling, the freshly restored and enhanced grave of Mrs Bracken has become the centerpiece that brightened the desolate section of the cemetery.

In place of the grave’s dirt surface now is a polished concrete platform with a steel bar enclosure that is supported by 12 of the Masonic emblem of square, compass and circle.

The new tombstone on Elizabeth Bracken's grave

At the platform’s head is a black polished concrete tombstone with the inscriptions:

“Elizabeth Jane nee McBride Bracken/Born 1847 Ireland/Burial Date 11-9-1876 Hong Kong”

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Inscribed on another polished black concrete slab at the foot of the platform is a brief biography:

“Elizabeth Jane nee McBride Bracken was the mother of Marie Josephine Leopoldine Bracken who became the common-law wife of Philippine National Hero, Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Josephine became a widow when her husband was executed by the Spanish colonialists on fabricated charges on Dec 30, 1896.

This memorial was sponsored by 10 Knights of Rizal of China Regional Area. Designed and built by a MM/KGOR, 2021.”

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At the bottom of the inscription is the grave number “4258”. 

Rizal and Bracken as they looked when they were together

The restoration work cements a belief long held by many, including project proponent and Grant Knight Pieter Nootenboom, that on this spot rest the remains of Josephine, who Rizal has called “my unhappy wife”.

They believe that Josephine, who died of tuberculosis at age 25 on Mar 14, 1902, was buried in the grave of her mother the next day. At the time, the common practice in the former British colony was to bury all who died from the disease in unmarked communal graves a day after, due to the lingering plague.

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There would not have been time to arrange for a new grave, (so) the relatives would have arranged with the gravedigger to bury Josephine in the same grave as her mother’s…This is, perhaps, the reason why Josephine’s grave cannot be found today, they said.

Nootenboom, a Dutchman married to a Filipina, is an avid Rizalist who for decades had joined the search in Hong Kong cemeteries on the ground and online, for Josephine’s long-lost grave.

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“The grave is surrounded and protected by a retinue of Masonic graves as escorts – both on the downward slope in front of the grave and also on the slope above and behind the grave,” Nootenboom said. 

The burial site is therefore well-located and fitting for Rizal’s wife, as the martyr was a member of Freemasonry, a civic movement that young Filipino students in Spain joined and helped spread rapidly among Filipinos there.

The reference to Josephine on a marble slab by the marked grave

These students, Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Graciano Lopez Jaena, Jose Alejandrino, Ariston Bautista, Julio Llorente, Galicano Apacible, Antonio Luna and his brother Juan Luna, later formed the Propaganda Movement that called for reforms in their homeland.

It was Rizal’s being a Freemason that fed the ire of the Spanish friars in the Philippines, who were pilloried by Filipino propagandists due to their alleged excesses and influence over the repressive colonial rulers.

Tunghayan ang isa na namang kwentong 

Josephine was endeared to the Knights of Rizal due to her status as Rizal’s common-law wife who stayed with him and bore him a stillborn son during his exile in Dapitan, Zamboanga del Norte.

The couple sailed to Manila in August 1896 and lived there as Rizal waited for his voyage to Cuba, where he was appointed as a doctor in the Spanish military in a deal with Governor General Ramon Blanco. But that fell through as Blanco was replaced by Camilo Garcia de Polavieja when the revolution broke out.

In November 1896, Rizal was thrown in a jail in Fort Santiago, accused of being one of the leaders of the revolution that was launched by Katipunan founder Andres Bonifacio.

Rizal retracted his anti-friar views and reconciled with the Church on the eve of his execution on Dec 30, 1896. Whether he married Josephine just before he was executed remains one of the most debated questions among Philippine historians.

Three days after the execution, Josephine joined the Filipino revolutionaries in Cavite guided by Rizal’s siblings, Paciano and Trinidad. According to some accounts, she was well received by the revolutionaries after being introduced as Rizal’s widow. She took care of the wounded in the battlefront, and learned marksmanship.

But after spending months in the battlefield, she became the target of ire by Spanish authorities. Sometime in May 1897, Paciano arranged her escape back to Manila where she was intercepted by the Spaniards before embarking for Hong Kong. But she was let go because she was the daughter of an American citizen.

Back in Hong Kong, she was introduced to Vicente Abad, a Cebuano, in early 1898. In December of that year, they married at the Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception on Caine Road. Josephine was just 22 years old.

In May 1899 the couple went to the Philippines and settled in Cebu, where Josephine got pregnant. They traveled back to Hong Kong the next year so Josephine could get better medical care for her delivery. On Apr 17, 1900, Josephine gave birth to a baby girl the couple named Dolores.

The Abad family remained in Hong Kong until Dolores was a year old, then sailed back to the Philippines where Josephine was granted a license to teach English in public schools. But not long after, she contracted a tuberculosis of the larynx, and decided to go back to Hong Kong after she was not given medical assistance by the American-ruled government in the Philippines.

The China Mail write-up said Josephine's funeral was held at Happy Valley

Josephine’s ailment rapidly advanced and took a toll on her body. On Mar 14, 1902, she quietly died in the land of her birth, an event that merited a small write-up in the China Mail, which still referred to her as “the widow of Dr. Rizal, a Filipino martyr.”

Nootenboom said with the grave now marked as a historical memorial with Hong Kong and Filipino flavors, it has the potential to attract both local and Filipino tourists.

“I am requesting the Hong Kong Tourism Association to feature the Rizal markers and special places in (the city) that he wrote about in his diary to promote Rizal walks in Hong Kong,” Nootenboom said.

“Hopefully more Filipino tourists may be interested to visit these places. So the HKTA should promote this,” he said.

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